San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless announced today that it’s going to build a nationwide wireless network dedicated to Internet of Things connectivity.

The project is expected to take about two years and relies on the company’s proprietary Random Phase Multiple Access (RPMA) technology that is already deployed in 38 private, regional machine-to-machine networks globally, including one that transmits data from San Diego Gas & Electric gas meters.

“Our objective is to become the machine communication standard for the world,” said Chief Executive John Horn. “We believe we have the technology to support that. We have 32 patents to protect it, and we have guys like (Qualcomm co-founder) Andrew Viterbi on the board.”

On-Ramp isn’t alone in chasing the Internet of Things – the notion that billions of gadgets ranging from cars to refrigerators to parking meters will be wirelessly connected to the Internet.

AT&T, Verizon and other high bandwidth cellular operators see it as an avenue for growth. Many of today's Internet of Things devices are connected through cellular networks.

But upstarts such as France’s Sigfox and Camarillo-based Semtech’s Lora Alliance Group have raised money and deployed low-power, low-bandwidth networks dedicated to Internet of Things connectivity.

Machina Research predicts these low power networks will exceed 3 billion connections by 2023, making them the most dominant wireless technology linking gadgets to the Internet.

/ Ingenu

Ingenu, formerly On-Ramp Wireless, has deployed private networks for regional customers. Now it will build a nationwide network dedicated to machine-to-machine links.

Founded in 2008, On-Ramp raised more than $100 million in total over the years. It recently added a fourth round of funding to help pay for its machine-to-machine network build-out. Horn declined to disclose the amount.

The 100-employee company changed its name to Ingenu as part of the rollout of its new RPMA network.

More than 55,000 square miles of the U.S. are already covered by the network, which operates in the unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz spectrum band most commonly used for Wi-Fi.

Phoenix and Dallas will be among the first metro areas to get it early next year. Nationwide coverage is expected by the end of 2017.

The company contends that not all Internet of Things devices need the high reliability and bandwidth of today’s cellular networks.

Long battery life and low costs matter most for some applications such as agriculture and infrastructure monitoring. So bridges could be fitted with inexpensive corrosion sensors that have batteries which last for years. Or a farm could be peppered with soil moisture monitors that make economic sense to install.

“If the (connectivity) costs go from a couple of dollars a month to a dollar a month or less, it really opens up new business models,” said Godfrey Chua, an analyst with Machina Research.

RPMA technology is designed to travel long distances – so one tower covers an area that could require up to 30 cellular towers. It works best delivering about 1 megabit per month of data. RPMA also is expected to be around for decades, while cellular networks tend to abandon older technology such as 2G to free up spectrum for newer technology such as high speed 4G.

“Gas metering, maybe electricity metering – any industry application where you have a guy going out in a truck to take a measurement is a good application” for RPMA, said Lee Ratliff, an analyst with IHS, an industry research firm.

Horn said the company will continue to provide private networks to regional customers in smart city, smart grid and other applications. But it sees it future as providing a larger, nationwide network for the Internet of Things. Former Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg and ex-Verizon Chief Technology Officer Richard Lynch are on the company’s board.

“Everything that makes cellular strong (for human communications) doesn’t work for machines,” said Horn. “And everything that RPMA is about is designed for machines.”